Baseball shoe safety protector



Dec. 2, 1969 P. HERMAN 3,481,055

BASEBALL SHOE SAFETY PROTECTOR Filed Sept. 5, 1968 Has '8 INVENTOR. PIMKY HERMAN ATTQRNEY 3,481,055 BASEBALL SHOE SAFETY PROTECTOR Pinky Herman, 11 Rumsey Road, Yonkers, NY. 10705 Filed Sept. 5, 1968, Ser. No. 757,531 Int. Cl. A43b /00, 7/32 US. Cl. 36-72 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A baseball shoe safety protector comprising a hollow member of flexible plastic material adapted to fit over the forward part of a baseball shoe. The hollow member is provided with inturned portions for engaging with the sole of the shoe and a resilient stretchable web for engaging with a spike of the shoe. The protector has a thick cross-section at its forward portion, which decreases to a thin section at the rear portion engaging with the instep part of the shoe. The protector is spaced with its upper portion from the upper of the shoe and is further provided with a central impact-absorbing ridge.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to an athletic shoe toe protector and is applicable to various types of athletic shoes, and particularly to baseball shoes.

An object of my invention is to provide a novel detachable toe protector for athletic shoes in which the toe protector can be easily mounted or removed from the shoe as required by the player.

Another object of my invention is to provide a toe protector formed of flexible plastic material so that the protector will conform to the shape of the shoe, and where the toe protector can be held securely attached to the shoe without the use of stitching, rivets, or other similar fastening means.

Another object of my invention is to provide a novel toe protector of the character stated which is held in position on the shoe by the stretching ability of the plastic material of which the protector is made, in cooperation with a single cleat or similar projection on the sole of the shoe.

Other objects, advantages and features of invention may appear from the accompanying drawing, the subjoined detailed description and the appended claims.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of the shoe protector, shown secured to a baseball shoe;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the same;

FIG. 3 is a cross-section taken on line 33 of FIG. 2 and FIG. 4 is a cross-section taken on line 4-4 of FIG. 3.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, the numeral 6 indicates in dotted lines a baseball shoe with the shoe protector secured thereon. The shoe is provided with the usual spikes 10, 12 secured to the sole 13 of the shoe 6 in known manner and arranged on the forward portion of the sole in the form of a triangle with the spike being foremost and a pair of spikes 12 arranged behind the spike 10, so that the spikes will extend into the ground.

The shoe protector it, preferably made of polypropylene or similar flexible plastic material extends over the upper 14 for substantially half of the total length of the shoe and particularly past the curved portion 16 thereof.

The upper portion 18 of the protector is also provided with lace holes 20 through which laces 22 can pass to assist in holding the protector in position. The protector is advantageously made of the aforementioned flexible, yieldable material having a thick cross-section at its forward toe portion, which diminishes gradually towards the 3,481,055 Patented Dec. 2, 1969 ice rear upwardly extending portion to a thinner cross-section, so that it will yield at the instep of the shoe and be comfortable to the user.

The protector is formed with an inturned portion 24 and a web 26. The inturned portion 24 is adapted to slide over the sole 13 of the shoe and to firmly engage with said sole, due to its resilient quality. The web 26 is formed with an opening or hole 28 which substantially conforms in shape to the spike 10.

The protector is further formed with an arcuate ridge portion 30 to resist the impact of a ball which may strike the protector at its central portion. Additionally, \the entire upper part of the protector is formed in such a manner that when attached to the shoe, it forms a space 32 between the protector and the upper of said shoe. Thus, in view of the above spacing, the impact of a ball against any portion of the protector is not transmitted to the upper or to the users foot. Since the protector can be manufactured in several common sizes, no difiiculty is presented in selecting the proper size of a protector, so that the above mentioned space will always be formed between its top portion and the upper of a shoe.

The shoe protector, according to the invention, is used as follows:

The shoe protector 8 is slid over the forward part of the shoe, so that the inturned portion 24 slides over the bottom face of the sole 13 and engages therewith, while the holes 20 are aligned with the lace holes 20'. The web 26, being stretchable, is pulled over the spike 10 and due to its resiliency engages firmly with said spike. To remove the protector, it is only necessary to untie the laces 22, stretch the web 26, unhook it from the spike 10 while in stretched condition and slide the protector 01f the forward part of shoe 6.

It will thus be apparent that the novel shoe protector according to the invention provides a safe and sure means of protecting a players foot due to the above construction, while it can be quickly and easily put on or removed by the player. While the invention has been described in connection with the above embodiment, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific details of construction, but that various changes in said detail construction and sizes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

The use of the above-described protector need not be restricted to athletic shoes, but may find use in industrial establishments where employees may be subject to foot injuries from falling objects.

Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A detachable baseball shoe safety protector for a shoe including a spike projecting from the sole of said shoe, comprising a resilient substantially hollow body formed of a substantially rigid plastic material, for positioning about the forward part of the shoe, said body having an upper forward portion and rearwardly and upwardly directed extension, said body being adapted to overlie the forward portion of the shoe, and lower inturned marginal portions for engaging the bottom face of the sole of said shoe and a web extending rearwardly from the extreme toe portion of said inturned marginal portions, said web being provided with an aperture whereby the web may be stretched and the aperture engaged over the spike to hold said protector on the shoe.

2. A baseball shoe safety protector as set forth in claim 1, wherein the forward portion of said body has substantial thickness, the thickness decreasing rearwardly in said extension toward the rear portion thereof.

3. A baseball shoe safety protector as set forth in claim 1, further provided with a central arcuate longitudinal ridge extending along the top of said body from the forward portion to its rearward portion, for absorbing 3 4 the impact of a ball striking said hollow members upper 1,677,370 7/ 1928 Roewade 36-77 X portion. 2,864,180 12/1958 Montgomery 36-72 4. A baseball shoe safety protector as set forth in claim 3,040,455 6/1962 Criswell 36 72 1, further provided With a plurality of apertures at its 3,206,874 9/1965 Ellis et a1. 36-72 upper rearward extension for alignment with the lace 5 7 h l f th h ALFRED R. GUEST, Primary Examiner References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS D. 157,124 2/1950 Boughey.

1,224,655 5/1917 Lloyd 36-72 U.S. C1. X.R. 

